9-10 percent growth achievable: Montek Singh Ahluwalia

New Delhi, Aug 21 (IANS) Planning Commission deputy chairman Montek Singh Ahluwalia Thursday said a 9-10 percent growth rate was achievable by India in the medium term, while the economy would log around 8 percent growth in the current fiscal.”We are targeting 9 percent growth in the medium term, and getting up to 10 percent,” Ahluwalia told reporters on the sidelines of a function here.

Ahluwalia termed the target “quite achievable”, saying it “may look ambitious with a slowdown in the global economy, but is achievable in the medium term”.

He said the problem of inflation was short term and would moderate in due course, as the government has taken several monetary and administrative measures to rein in inflation.

“Inflation will moderate. Let’s have patience,” Ahluwalia said.

India’s annual rate of inflation touched a 13-year high of 12.44 percent for the week ended Aug 2.

Ahluwalia also set aside the apprehension that the government’s recent decision to hike employees’ salaries would have any adverse impact on the country’s economy.

“We will be able to deal with any implications (arising out of the salary hike),” he said.

The Prime minister’s Economic Advisory Council (EAC), in its “Economic Outlook Report 2008-09″, has predicted a 7.7 percent economic growth in the current fiscal, as compared to 9.1 percent last fiscal.

Former Reserve Bank of India (RBI) Governor C. Rangarajan, who released the EAC’s economic outlook report here Aug 13, had said inflation would moderate to 8-9 percent by March 2009.